It can hardly have escaped anyone that Sveriges Television, whose operations are funded by tax money that the Swedish people have no possibility to opt out of, has chosen to scrap a fully recorded episode featuring citizen journalist Nick Alinia. The decision was made after pressure from left-liberal media. According to SVT, there are no issues with the program itself, but rather it is about the ‘signaling effect’ of having him on and ‘democratic values.’ At the same time, the state broadcaster seems to have no problem inviting gang-affiliated rappers with documented links to the gang milieu to the very same program.
It was at the beginning of June that it became clear that the national conservative debater and citizen journalist Nick Alinia would participate in the comedy program IFS – Immigrants for Swedes.
However, after an intense campaign from left-liberal media and opinion-makers aimed at SVT, the responsible managers chose to scrap the program.
READ ALSO: SVT stops program with Nick Alinia: ‘Racist ideology’
According to SVT’s responsible publisher Helena Olsson, the content of the program itself falls within the framework of the public service mission and there are no objections to be made to it. Nevertheless, she believes the decision to let Alinia participate was wrong.
She emphasizes that Alinia cannot be equated with a normal opinion maker because, according to his critics, he is linked to alleged far-right environments, harassment of journalists, and racist expressions.
READ ALSO: SVT’s Language Use: Far-right Mentioned 79 Times More Often Than Far-left
In an opinion piece, SVT manager Helena Olsson explains that the signaling effect of giving him a place in the program weighed heavier than the content of the pre-recorded episode.
Olsson dismisses that the issue is about right, left, or opinion diversity. Instead, she justifies the decision with reference to what she describes as ‘fundamental democratic values’ according to the Instrument of Government, the Radio and TV Act, and the Public Service Act.
I have now watched the recording of the episode featuring Alinia. The content is flawless when it comes to what can be said within the framework of our editorial guidelines.
Despite this, we will not broadcast the episode featuring Alinia.
In recent decades, a :censored:6:cdd6bbaa89: wave of authoritarian populism and democratic backsliding has emerged. A recurring feature of this development is the undermining of trust in institutions that make democracies strong – independent media, the rule of law, and academic freedom. Historically, these are early signs of democratic backsliding. Against this backdrop, the signaling effect of his participation is particularly serious.
Helena Olsson in DN.
Gang Profiles Are No Problem
Over the years, Samnytt has repeatedly reported on how both Sveriges Television and Sveriges Radio regularly offer their platforms—which the Swedish public is forced to finance through taxes—to invite gangsta rappers with clear connections to the gang criminal environment who exclusively glorify gang violence in their music.
READ ALSO: After Tidö Government’s Visit to Tunisia – SR Rapper Mohamed Arrested and To Be Deported
One such person is the 22-year-old gangsta rapper Baran Çelik, better known by the stage name VC Barre. Çelik, who has a Turkish immigrant background, has long been linked to the gang milieu in Märsta in northern Greater Stockholm.
He has performed at major concerts around Sweden and has songs with millions of streams on both Spotify and YouTube, making him one of the country’s most prominent rap artists.
READ ALSO: SR Boss Defends Rap About Guns and Drugs: Not Gangsta Rap—It’s Swedish Hip-Hop
Despite the fact that his music largely romanticizes serious acts of violence such as shootings and murder, as well as drug dealing, he was allowed to participate in the comedy program. In SVT’s light entertainment venture, he was even given the role of comedian.
@svthumor Great New Year’s tradition with Japp at midnight—but is it real? #japp #svthumor #invandrareförsvenskar #spanien #vindruvor #konstig #orten #humorsverige @barre_ys @ahmedberhan739 ♬ original sound – SVT Humor
As recently as last autumn, the SVT profile walked around with a large bushcraft knife on the streets of central Stockholm. The gangsta rapper admitted to police that he carried the knife but claimed it was self-defense due to threats against him. Police report states that the knife is to be classified as a “street combat knife.”
READ ALSO: SVT Rapper VC Barre Walked Around with Rambo Knife in Central Stockholm
On October 30, 2025, Stockholm District Court announced that Baran Çelik was convicted of a serious violation of the knife law. The crime carries a sentencing value corresponding to six months in prison, which will also be his punishment for his Rambo-style arming in central Stockholm.
Longtime Gang Connections
Even before VC Barre was invited to SVT’s Immigrants for Swedes (IFS) program, his connections to the gang environment were well known. If this was unknown to the state broadcaster, it was hardly unknown to the police or to outlets such as Samnytt, which has long scrutinized organized crime and the people connected to it.
READ ALSO: SR Promotes Gang Criminal: ‘Spray Away His Face’
According to the police, the rapper is listed as a gang criminal in the district of Valsta in Märsta, located in Sigtuna municipality—an area recently classified as what is known as a vulnerable area.
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Legal documents reviewed by Samnytt show that Çelik already appears in the criminal records for, among other things, assault and harassment.
The legal documents also state that Çelik and his associates in Märsta are suspected of “serious organized crime.”
“The police depict Baran Çelik as an active actor within an organized criminal network in Märsta.”
SVT Profile Humiliated Police Officers
Helena Olsson, publisher at SVT, has in particular justified the decision to scrap the programs with Nick Alinia by referring to the negative “signaling effect.”
The background is that Alinia engages in confrontational interviews with opponents at demonstrations and public gatherings. This seems to be considered problematic by SVT. Asking direct and critical questions is portrayed as almost inappropriate.
READ ALSO: SR’s Rapper Humiliates Police—”House Negro”
At the same time, SVT has raised no objections to letting other personalities participate in Immigrants for Swedes despite these individuals being known for mocking and humiliating police officers on duty. On the contrary, their participation has been approved and the programs aired.
Samnytt can furthermore show when SVT profile VC Barre and his gang in Märsta mocked a police officer with an immigrant background. The rapper called the police officer a “house negro” (editor’s note: immigrant who strives to assimilate into Swedishness).
Çelik: [Laughs] Cool man, he has come to Sweden just a few days ago.
The gang: He’s a house negro, man. Damn house negro, man.
Çelik: House negro.
Gangster Yasin Got the Green Light
Gangsta rapper Yasin Abdullahi Mahamoud, with Somali immigrant background and better known under the stage name Yasin, also got the green light to participate in the comedy program.
This was despite the fact that he is at least as well-known for his gangster music as for his prominent role in the Rinkeby network Shottaz—one of Sweden’s most notorious criminal gangs, involved in the bloody gang conflicts in the Stockholm area.
— Yasin was on and off with me. That name I let through, but then it dropped for other reasons, which of course can happen, said Helena Olsson, editor-in-chief for Immigrants for Swedes to SR and continued:
— I was initially hesitant, because here he would be the ‘funny guy’, so to speak, and I was hesitant because then we would simultaneously legitimize gang criminality.
READ ALSO: SVT Promotes Yasin Again: He Has Changed—Now ‘Dad Feminist’
But according to the SVT boss, Yasin himself had stated that he had left the gang environment, which was the reason his participation could be approved.
— But given the time factor, he has served his sentence and he himself claims to have left gang crime, so I said yes to Yasin if it could be settled security-wise and so forth.
In the aftermath of the gang conflicts, he was sentenced to prison for a serious weapons offense with connections to the criminal gang milieu in Stockholm. Even though his participation ultimately did not happen for other reasons, SVT’s executives had already given their approval.
It should also be noted that Sweden’s Radio in 2021 awarded Yasin “Artist of the Year” and “Hip-Hop Artist of the Year” at the P3 Gold gala.
Alinia to Samnytt: ‘Propaganda Channel’
How do you see that gang criminals can participate in the program without issue, while SVT chooses to remove you, citing democratic values and the signaling effect your participation would have?
— Ever since my involvement in IFS, SVT has been completely open that they are nothing other than a left-liberal propaganda channel. Many of us have known this, but this smear campaign has made it clear to many more.
What do you think SVT’s sudden action says about public service?
— They have no consistent principles about who can participate, but are only driven by political propaganda purposes. They also knowingly use propaganda lies to try to justify their decision.
READ ALSO: Nick Alinia Attacked by Masked Far-Left Activist on May Day
When you see how your participation is blocked due to media pressure, while others are welcomed, does it make you reflect on how much space really exists for opinions outside the left-liberal opinion corridor?
— I am very satisfied with the outcome of all this.
Ducking Questions
Samnytt has, during the week, sought out Helena Olsson, responsible editor for Immigrants for Swedes (IFS), and the state broadcaster’s program director Björn Wärn for their views on giving airtime to people with links to serious organized crime and how they justify their choice.
Both SVT managers have chosen not to respond to Samnytt’s questions.
READ ALSO: The Panic Around Nick Alinia Reveals the Big Public Service Lie
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